So I was arguing with a friend who says that possession of ALL drugs should carry a minimum punishment of ten years in prison (even a bit of green) because drugs are so BAD. I'm not convinced - I can't really see a justifiable reason for punishing people for taking them so I was arguing for them all to be legalised and regulated, just like our favourite legal drugs are now. I'm well aware of the damage that drugs can do - visiting my uncle in hospital as a kid when he overdosed on smack was a fairly clear message - but should he have gone to prison for it? Nah, I don't think so. What do you think?

"Spiny norman wins on the bizzare terror stakes, if you haven't been stared at by a 40-foot hedgehog, you haven't lived." - Saltandgin

Sure, you can get pretty much the same stuff over the counter. Not to mention 'least here in Finland there are some cough medications that don't require anything else, than moving your ass to the meds store and getting a bottle. Chugging most of the contents of the bottle will send you trippin' rather well and is quite cheap.

Only problem is possible stommy issues, which is not something you want to deal with while trying to figure out what/where/why the walls are.

Here are two things to consider:
Cui bono? Who profits?
When buying anything, there is a chain of events that got that thing to you. In regards to drugs, there are some bad people along that chain that profit. There are many people exploited and harmed to get you those drugs, more than likely. This can also be said for many legal things, from diamonds to coffee.

What harm does the production of that substance cause?
Was that pot grown on a clear cut plot in a National Forrest? Who got the chemical burns making that coke? Again, can be said of many legal things.

Another thing: I seem to remember reading some WS Burroughs piece on the drug war in which he said that it could not be won by eliminating dealers; someone would always step in to supply and profit.

I, personally, don't care what anyone ingests, if they do it of a free will.

Resident Asshole wrote:....I don't think society should have to support your dumb ass if you OD...

It'll be interesting to see if the strength of your conviction holds, should you ever need treatment for something alcohol related...
Oh, wait...we already know.

"If I had all the money that I've spent on drink, I'd spend it on drink!"
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Kindly listen to this, please.
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"If I had all the money that I've spent on drink, I'd spend it on drink!"
"The trouble with internet quotes is that one can never be sure if they are genuine." - Abraham Lincoln
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In regards to "hard" drugs, I'm frankly a fence-sitter. While I understand that the use of certain drugs, like opiates, carries a severe risk for the user and society at large, I also find it problematic that the prohibition of many drugs creates a powerful black market made up of individuals who will do anything -- from rape to murder to torture -- in order to get the money they want for peddling their illicit products.

That being said, I think that there are also many drugs that should (at least in the U.S.) be legalized and regulated, as opposed to locking up the individuals that use them. I am not opposed to the idea of legalizing, taxing, regulating, and creating a safe[r] environment for the use of Cannabis, LSD, GHB, psychoactive mushrooms (Amanitas and Psilocybes), khat, and a number of others. I also think that currently-legal drugs should remain legal and follow suit -- namely ones like kava, kratom, Salvia, DXM, and dagga... amid others.

"If I had all the money that I've spent on drink, I'd spend it on drink!"
"The trouble with internet quotes is that one can never be sure if they are genuine." - Abraham Lincoln
Kindly listen to this, please.
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Resident Asshole wrote:....I don't think society should have to support your dumb ass if you OD...

It'll be interesting to see if the strength of your conviction holds, should you ever need treatment for something alcohol related...
Oh, wait...we already know.

Wow, it's amazing that you brought up an experience where I almost died to make fun of me. And I thought I was the asshole. By the way, I work and have health insurance, that is what paid for my hospital stay.

I can't stand when jobless morons OD on things and then the taxpayers have to pay for their stupidity. Yes, freedom should exist for everyone but when your freedom invades into my wallet there is a problem.

ps, my neurologist told me it probably had nothing to do with alcohol. It's been over a year without any seizures so I'm relatively in the clear (I can legally drive), if anyone gives a shit.

Bourbon is my blood.

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